Decision made...

Wishing you good thoughts.  I'm thinking that I may be traveling your path in the near future.  Too much stuff going on for me to feel comfortable watching and waiting.

Been in your shoes girl.  My breasts became like a doctor's pin cushion/surgical experiment.  Definitely had enuf of it.

Question: if they suspect invasive in both breasts, why only SNB on only one side?

If it were me (and it's been me), I would request excisional biopsies on the areas they think might be invasive.  If they find no invasive, I might reconsider doing SNB at all.  This is just what I did, while it is DEFINITELY a case by case decision, I went into BMX surgery pretty sure we would not find invasive and we did no SNB on either side.  Good gamble - no invasive found.  This was great for me as I reduced my chances of lymphedema by avoiding the SNB.  Yes, it was two surguries, but for me it was way worth it.  My surgeon did the incisions around the aureola on the investigative biopsies so that I would not have two sets of scars when we did the BMX.  I had already made the decision to do BMX but wanted to know what we were up against so I could decide about SNB.

BTW, my recovery was fast, uneventful and I can do everything I ever did before the BMX.  Seriously, like it never happened.  ((((HUGS))))

After today I am edging closer to making a decision.  I went for a follow up mammogram after having had a lumpectomy in May.  I had felt a small lump about an inch away from my scar and had them try to image it on the mammogram.  It couldn't be seen on the mammo and they saw something else on the mammo that needed to be looked at with ultrasound.  The tech who did the ultrasound also couldn't image the lump that I feel but did image what the mammo had found.  The radiologist came in to confirm what the tech saw on the ultrasound and to see if she could image the lump.  She couldn't image the lump either.  So it looks like an MRI is in my future.  I am waiting for a call from my breast surgeon and have scheduled an appointment with her.  Not sure I can keep doing month follow ups forever.

Deciding to have or not have a PBLM or BLM is taxing! Worrying about pathology REALLY does a number on us and I offer heartfelt good wishes to Valarie, Janet and Crescent.



A PBLM April '10 for freed me from years of dealing with my breast. What a relief.



When my breast concerned doctors enough to require exams and expensive tests every twelve weeks, preferably at a major cancer institution, I knew matters were serious. Throw in a promise of biopsies along the way and and my lifestyle became dominated by sick breast.



I appreciated the chance for early detection of invasive disease should I have kept my breast. That can be lifesaving and is breast conserving.



But the chance to be further removed from the whole mess made sense to me.